The present invention relates to tire-scrapping machinery; and more particularly, it relates to apparatus for cutting rubber tires into segmented pieces for disposal.
One of the major problems in solid waste disposal is the handling of rubber tires. In every major metropolitan area of the United States, there are literally tens of thousands of old tires to be disposed of every month. In the past, disposal by burying and burning has been relied upon. However, because of the air pollution created by the disposal of old tires by burning, laws have been effected which place strict regulations on this manner of disposal. Also, strict regulations now control the burying of old tires in landfills; there is now the requirement that old tires be cut into pieces before burying to prevent tires from working their way to the surface at the landfill.
Heretofore, a number of proposals for the disposal of rubber tires by dismemberment have been made. Each, however, has involved the shredding of discarded tire carcasses into fragmented pieces. Representative of such rubber tire shredding apparatus is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,004 assigned to Tire-Gator, Inc. of Houston, Tex. Another similar piece of equipment for shredding tires is the TIRE SCRAPPER MACHINE which has been offered by Alternative Energy Company. The structure of both machines comprises inter-engaging, rotary feeder-cutter wheels mounted on counter rotating shafts, which pull a rubber tire through a feed path between the wheels and simultaneously shred the tire with cutting implements.